Pickin' The Blues

I played behind John Lee Hooker at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City when I was 16 years old.  It was a transforming experience.  I’d been a fan of his for many years, but to see him in action up close was a revelation.  He had so much power in a single note.  It was the way he attacked the strings and where he placed the notes in time that gave him his sound.  Some musicians called him “unmusical” because he didn’t follow the straight blues changes; nor did he play the traditional twelve bars.  But to me he was more musical than many of his contemporaries because his sound was so personal.  His changes followed the story he was telling, not the rules set down by someone else.

VIDEO – JOHN LEE HOOKER “HOBO BLUES”